Dreams Across Worlds
by Sopheryl
Summary: Kuro/Fai. The first time I had the dream I was just a child...When I was just a child, I tried a spell that wasn't for destroying...
1. Kurogane

AN: Done for a friend in a sort of song challenge. Would suggest listening to 3 Doors Down's 'Here Without You' while reading, though the song will be long before this chapter, unless you're a very fast reader. It isn't a song fic - but I listened to the words and, mostly, the music to set the sort of 'tone' to the fic.

This chapter is from Kurogane's point of view. May be slightly OOC, has a made up thing for them, and a bit mushy. This takes place after Tokyo, contains minor spoilers.

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The first time I had the dream I was just a child. I'd never seen hair like that, gold as the leaves in the fall, or eyes like that, blue as the sky on a clear day. In my head, that dream world, he was 'Aki', Autumn, for that hair and those eyes.

He was my playmate in those dreams. I showed him my world as if he'd never seen it before. Sometimes he said he hadn't. I would just laugh. He would stare.

As the years grew on, I abandoned the dreams, brushing them off as my imagination. I had plenty of playmates in real life, and I had my mother, my father, the various people in father's employment. What did I need one in my dreams for? My dreams were more suited to glory in battle over demons. Dreams of 'Aki' came less and less until they were gone completely. I never realized how happy I had been back then until my parents had died and I knew nothing but anger and despair.

My dreams were _terrifying_. I never said it to anyone. Maybe they guessed why I was up before the sunrise some days, doing whatever needed to be done, whatever was proper for me to do, anything to keep my mind off sleep. Princess Tomoyo...I'm sure she knew all along.

I started seeing 'Aki' again in my dreams. Gradually he replaced the nightmares painted with my mother's blood and by my father's severed arms. He had changed - or maybe it was me that had changed. Dreams meant nothing, no matter what everyone said. He was some imaginary friend, one that filled my head at night instead of spending the days with me. Wasn't it obvious?

As I improved in my skill as a ninja, a true ninja, as I grew older, taller, stronger, I once again abandoned those dreams to the sweet, black, abyss of short, dreamless nights. Some nights felt like I had merely blinked and it had become morning. Other nights I drifted in darkness for hours at a time. Sometimes 'Aki' would be there, but never for long. I would simply ignore him until he disappeared. Years passed. Years upon years.

And then, _that_ happened, and I was sent to that damned witch.

And I saw him. Aki. No. Fai.

So much had happened, but I never said a word. The resemblance was uncanny. It was far too much. He teased me, I threatened him. It was an endless cycle. But I remember those dreams. How many times was I tempted to confront him about it? So very many times. But I never did.

And yet, I felt a warmth over my heart as we grew close - whenever he put a hand on my arm, or whenever the teasing Kuro-whatever turned less mocking and more intimate, there was a little tingle, a little fluttering in my stomach.

It was only a bit sickening. But, I got used to it. And I fell.

I still never told him about the dreams. Not even the few times were laying together, when he was curled up on my chest, sleeping deeply or just cat-napping. I thought about it, sure, but whenever I tried to, it just didn't seem important.

Not when he would give that happy little sigh and shift around in his sleep.

Maybe that's why it was all too easy to give him my blood. It was a scary though, being bound to him like this, but the more I think about it, the less I mind it. I love him, after all, even if I don't say, so would it really be so bad?

He's sleeping now, but every few minutes he tenses and threatens to wake up.

That's why I'm laying down next to him and holding him close. I've seen him have nightmares before, so I know what to do. A tiny kiss against his forehead snaps him out of it just enough. A hand gently stroking his back calms him and lets him drift off to hopefully happier dreams.

I don't know what'll happen when he wakes up, but I'll face it head on, because this isn't a dream at all.

It's reality.


	2. Fai

AN: Aaand here's part two! Done to 3 Doors Down 'Kryptonite', though that mood doesn't really show through….blarg, sorry about that.

One more part after this~

This one is a bit longer and such because I'm better at writing Fai, I guess, ha ha, and because the Kuro's POV chapter really just laid out the groundwork. This one is very explanatory. I repeated a few sentence structures to tie them together if anyone noticed~ Most of it is in a sort of 'flashback' setting, you see, and doesn't getting to 'present' until the very end.

This is from Fai's point of view, I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

When I was just a child, I tried a spell that wasn't for destroying. I wasn't a dreamseer, but I was curious, and far more powerful than any curious child should be. I gathered what was needed, and practiced writing all the words until I could write the entire spell out with my eyes closed, without a single mistake. Only then did I sit in my room, writing out the words before me. They hung in the air, glowing, until I finished the spell, speaking the last words.

For awhile I wasn't sure what I had done. I feared that I had destroyed myself, or the castle, and was doomed to float in this warm, black oblivion for all eternity. No, I decided. I couldn't give up.

I still had to give Fai his life.

I found myself in some other place. It wasn't cold like home. Such an odd place. I wasn't in the darkness anymore, at least, but I was still alone.

Or was I?

Upon exploring this odd place I found someone else. Physically, he couldn't have been much older than myself, dressed differently, staring at me with those red eyes, before grinning at me. "You're not a demon, are you?"

"No," I said, automatically. A demon? No, I had heard of those. I was bad luck but...no, not a demon. Right? I wasn't a demon, was I?

"Then let's play!" He said and motioned at me to follow him into a garden. I'm not sure why I did, but I followed, looking and listening.

That was how I met him. Eventually I woke up, thankfully, in my own, cold world, just as that world was vanishing. Someone else's dream, I would realize later when I looked farther into the spell. I thought about trying to reverse it, but every time I prepared to I would remember that other boy, and stop.

I didn't know many children my own age.

And so, when I dreamed, sometimes I went to that other place. Later, many dreams later, he said his name was Kurogane, but never asked my name. He seemed happy to just play. Years went by, and he stopped playing in the dreams. After awhile, I was unable to even enter his dream.

Clearly, the spell had a time limit.

So, I focused on my own work, learning and doing what Ashura needed and asked of me. Those dreams were always on the back of my mind, I'm sure. How could anyone forget such a place? Sometimes I looked around at all the endless white snow and wished for that place, warm and colorful.

Fai...Fai would have liked it there. Kurogane and Fai would have gotten along. Someday, I thought. Someday, when I brought him back to life, we would find a way to go there, together. But only after my debts here were paid.

Out of the blue, years and years later, I dreamt of Kurogane again. He had grown, but not just physically. Sometimes I stood with him, watching as everything around us burned, and he would sob. The first few times I was too stunned to do anything - Kurogane had seemed so //strong//. When I touched him once, and pulled him into a hug...I wonder if it helped. Still, after that, we rarely touched. His dreams, I was sure those were his dreams then, and that I was a visitor, calmed, from what I saw.

It made me happy when we sat under trees, what did he call them? Sakura trees, blooming in gentle barely-there pink. He once taught me how to weave them into a grass crown, when I asked. 'Mother taught me how to make them,' he explained when I asked how he had learned, 'and she was always happy when I would bring her one.' Then he would change the topic.

I started to enjoy these dreams, this other world, but just as I grew used to them, they faded again. Everything became sharper first. Sometimes I would stand there for what seemed like hours. He would just ignore me - or maybe he just never saw me as he sat there under trees or on porches. When I tried to talk to him, he just ignored me. Occasionally he would look at me, but eventually that even stopped. I tried to walk around on my own, but it wasn't the same.

I even tried to weave together a crown, determined to make the most ridiculously girly one to put on him. Surely, that would get his attention. But even that didn't hold my attention. Eventually I said goodbye to him, and smiled.

I never said goodbye before that. Departures from the dreams were always too sudden. I was determined then, to not go back.

With some effort, I searched for the counter spell. With some practice, my dreams were only mine again. I laid in bed long after I woke up for the first time, thinking. The spell wasn't for destroying, or so I had understood. But, perhaps, it really was. I, myself, felt a bit uneasy, a bit shattered.

And then...._that_ happened, and I sent myself to have my wish fulfilled.

He was there. Older, more mature, but it was him. I just smiled. He said nothing, but I knew.

He said nothing, so neither did I.

Teasing him seemed like the natural thing to do. Perhaps I was just like a little boy, teasing the girl he liked because he didn't know how else to show his affection. Perhaps I had loved Kurogane for a long, long time.

Perhaps it was just something childish.

And yet he opened to me. Without hesitation I opened back. I'm glad I did. If anything we were awkward, both unsure of just how to go about things. I could see it in his eyes - he remembered those dreams. I knew it in my mind that I had cast the spell, and truly, invaded his privacy. Was it guilt? Perhaps a bit, but if it hadn't been for the dreams, I don't think I ever would have learned his comforting scent, or how those strong arms gave equally strong hugs when I pestered him enough to give me one, or how nice a pillow he made.

What has happened scared me.

He's made me into something without even consulting me. He's making a choice, a decision that concerns life and death. I'm tired of those. I want to laugh - I want to cry, and then the pain wracks my body.

I think I'm asleep. Or maybe I'm dead. Maybe it didn't work. Will I see Fai again now? No...No, I'm sure I've gone to a very different place than he has. He's gone to heaven, and that can't be where I am, because there's my life flashing before my eyes, all the terrors, all of my mistakes, and above all, me choosing my own life over that of my brother's.

Maybe I'm becoming a monster. Maybe the outside will match the outside.

The pain subsides, and I feel myself waking up. I almost scramble to stay asleep. I don't think I'm ready to face the world. I'm not fast enough.

I wake up and my world smells of Kurogane, my hands clenched in his formerly white shirt, stained with blood. His hand is gently stroking my back.

"Good morning...Kurogane," I whisper. No cute names. No cheerfulness. No smile.

Because I've been living in a dream, haven't I? And this isn't a dream anymore.

It's reality.


	3. Finale

AN:

And this is the last chapter! Like the others it was written to a 'song' as a mood setter. The song is 'Perfect Scene' by Mercy Mercedes, which is very catchy thankyouverymuch if you like things like that.

This fic is written in third person. No more first person! Oh ho ho.

As a bit of history this chapter takes after the end of the series - they've all stopped roaming across all the worlds. Fai, having no place else to go, returned to Japan/Nihon (whatever you want to call it) country with Kurogane. It's sometime in the winter, ha ha.

Thank you all for reading!

P.S. I apologize for the sudden ending. Ha ha ha~

* * *

Fai looked so natural in the snow. His pale complexion, eyes, hair, and his ability to stand such cold temperatures fueled some kind of rumor that he wasn't all human, that he was really some kind of spirit that Kurogane under some spell. Or, according to a rumor that Kurogane preferred, that Fai was the one with a spell on him.

Some of the younger children in the castle had it made it their goal to follow Fai around for hours as he wandered in the snow, completely at home, waiting to see if he would cast some kind of spell around.

"Brats," Kurogane said, motioning as if he were going to chase a few off. They laughed (or yelled out that mean old mister Kurogane was going to kill them) as they ran off, leaving Kurogane freezing with Fai.

"They're just curious, Kuro-puppy," Fai said laughing as he brushed snowflakes off the ninja's hair.

"They're just brats," Kurogane corrected.

"You know, the snow feels different here," Fai said, tugging off his glove and kneeling down to pat at the snow on the ground.

"Your hand will get cold," Kurogane growled, kneeling down next to him. There was no use in telling him to put his glove back on, of course. He hadn't been with Fai for years without learning a few things.

"Oh, but I'm just a harmless snow spirit, haven't you heard?" Fai laughed.

"Lousy kids," Kurogane said, narrowing his eyes. "So what do you mean, the snow is different? It's snow."

"It tastes different," Fai said, gathering some on his fingertips and lifting it up to his mouth.

"Snow isn't for eating." Kurogane shook his head as he stood.

"The longer I know Kuro-puu, the more I think he's like a puppy," Fai said, as if someone else was there. When Kurogane just grunted, he grinned and stood. "Kuro-puppy!"

"What?" Kurogane asked, only mildly annoyed. He was used to Fai's antics by now, so nothing was new.

"Kiss me," Fai said cheerfully, wrapping his arms around Kurogane's neck and leaning against him. He puckered up his lips, closing his eyes.

Kurogane's cheeks turned a bit pink that had nothing to do with the cold. "What? Out here?" He looked around. There always seemed to be a few nosey student ninja around - or even actual, grown ninja, who were either getting fodder for blackmail, or to fuel the rumors...or to make sure that Kurogane didn't kill Fai.

After all, Tomoyo liked Fai well enough. It would be a shame if Kurogane's temper got the best of him.

"Yes, out here," Fai said, opening one eye. He whistled a single note. "Aaaah, could it be that Kurogane has already gotten tired of me? And we've only been here..." He paused.

"Half a year," Kurogane said, resting his hands lightly on Fai's hips. "We measure things in years."

"Half a year," Fai said, smiling. "Well, puppies do have short attention spans..."

"Fine! If it means that much to you, I'll give you a kiss-" Kurogane started, stopping when Fai pulled his arms back.

"I don't want one now," Fai said, turning around and walking away, arms swinging. When Kurogane just stood there, he looked over his shoulder, and laughed. "Let's go home! We'll get Kuro-puppy a bone!"

Oh, there was no denying just what Fai meant by that.

"Stop calling me that," Kurogane said, hurrying a few steps to walk beside him. Fai wrapped an arm around Kurogane's, leaning his head on his shoulder.

"Kuro-puppy must have eaten well when he was little to get so tall!" Fai said cheerfully, smiling.

"Then men in my family are always tall. Being a short ninja, that's just disgraceful," Kurogane said, stubbornly. Fai just laughed. When Fai stopped walking Kurogane paused, looking over at him. "Fai?"Fai lifted his head and reached up to wrap his arms around Kurogane's neck. "Hey, Kuro-puppy?"

"What?" Kurogane grumbled.

"You're standing under a tree," Fai said, reaching up and yanking down on a snow-laden branch. Inches of snow fell onto Kurogane's head and even down his back.

"Hey!" Kurogane said, shaking his head to get snow off it. He growled as Fai took off, laughing, and followed after the wizard, still brushing snow off his head and shoulders. "Get back here!"

"Kuro-puppy has to work for his treat!" Fai called over his shoulder, heading in the general direction of their little 'house' and, more specifically, their bedroom.

Kurogane paused in his chase only long enough to swing his sword, still sheathed, at a tree. There was a small 'eep' from the ones hiding inside. "Leave us alone. Got that?" He said, and continued on without waiting for an answer.

Judging by the fact that the door was just barely open, Fai was already inside. One of these days Kurogane would finally get Fai to remember how to close the sliding doors completely. But for now...

"You let all the warm air out," Kurogane muttered as he made his way to their bedroom. "And you tracked water all through the house." He opened the door, another one just barely open. "And now my hair and clothes are wet too."

Fai laughed, shrugging off his layers to reveal one pale shoulder. "And what are you going to do about that, Kuro-puppy?"

"You have no idea," Kurogane growled, and closed in. That was the last true sentence spoken for quite a bit.


End file.
